Hemingway Teacher Guides

Thanks to the generous funding from the Michigan Humanities Council, public school districts in Michigan are receiving a free DVD copy of Ernest Hemingway: A Life in Michigan. This 30 minute documentary was produced by WCMU Public Television and aired statewide in the fall of 2007. The DVD version contains that original program plus extended versions of interviews with two of Hemingway's nephews who discuss their famous uncle and growing up and living in northern Michigan.

Ernest Hemingway: A Life in Michigan includes interviews with Hemingway scholars and relatives, seldom seen photographs taken from Hemingway family collections, and footage shot in northern Michigan - including Walloon Lake, Horton Bay and Horton Creek, and the Upper Peninsula locations for Hemingway's famous story The Big Two Hearted River.

Copies of Ernest Hemingway: A Michigan Life are available from the Michigan Hemingway Society. The MHS may be contacted at this address:

Michigan Hemingway Society
P.O. Box 922
Petoskey, MI 49770

The Clarke Historical Library, with the support of the Michigan Hemingway Society, has developed this website detailing Hemingway's Michigan connections. It is hoped that teachers using the documentary will also have students use this site as it gives many details and photos not included on the DVD.

This section is intended to assist educators and other wishing to do more with the information presented at this website.

For Further Discussion:

In what ways were the Hemingway family's experiences in northern Michigan similar to those who vacation there today?

How did Ernest's Michigan experiences impact him personally and his writing?

The pictures shown in the program come from photos albums the Hemingway's created and kept. In what ways are these images similar to pr different than images in typical albums today?

Additional Worksheet Exercises:

Ernest Hemingway: Life in Michigan Viewing Questions: This is a list of 12 questions that follow along with the documentary's main points. (Requires DVD viewing only)

Hemingway Timeline: This activity involves identifying significant dates in Ernest Hemingway's life related to his Michigan experiences.(Requires website and DVD resources)

The Hemingways: While watching the dvd, students are asked to gather information on three people who inspire characters in The Nick Adams Stories. They are then asked to compare the real life people with the fictional creations. (Requires DVD viewing and reading of selected stories)

Comparing Ernest and Nick: After having read selected Nick Adams Stories, this activity has students identify ways in which Ernest and Nick are similar. (DVD, website, and reading selected Nick Adams stories required)

Mapping Hemingway's Michigan: This activity involves creating a map of locations associated with Ernest Hemingway's Michigan experiences.